The evidence proves the British are getting angrier every year. Weve never been healthier, wealthier or wiser. So whats our problem? Report by Tim Rayment

What makes a disabled grandfather, described in court as a good neighbour with a reputation for acts of kindness, kill a stranger with a single blow after a trivial driving dispute? Why would another motorist chase a pedestrian onto a bus and stab him to death? What makes the driver of a mechanical digger settle a dispute by wrecking two cars and a house?

If these are extreme examples, featuring characters who – whatever the neighbours think – were always nasty pieces of work, there is little doubt something has changed. Here are some facts: we suffer the second-worst road rage in the world after South Africa; 38% of men are unhappy at work; no fewer than 27% of managers in the construction industry have sought medical help for stress, anxiety or depression; the country’s leading anger